At least one person was killed as Kenyan police fought violent running battles and fired tear gas at hundreds of people protesting against an Ebola quarantine centre being built for US citizens in a tourist town.
The centre at Laikipia Air Base in the town of Nanyuki, under the shadow of Mount Kenya, is set to quarantine Americans arriving from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which is battling a major Ebola outbreak.
Kenya has never recorded a case of Ebola and many oppose the idea of bringing potential carriers of the highly contagious disease into the country.
There were running battles around Nanyuki as protesters lit fires and threw stones at police, who responded with teargas and water cannons.
Gunshots were heard and media report said one man was seen lying motionless after being shot in the head. The Red Cross said another person was injured by a teargas cannister.
Dozens were arrested, including by armed police in plainclothes as the United States is treading a thin line and has been careful not to comment publicly on the court issue or the protests, insisting it continues to work hand in hand with the Kenyan government.
The centre is due to have 50 isolation beds and be managed by US staff and was nearing completion late last week.
Work has continued despite a temporary pause order from Kenya’s High Court and opposition from local politicians in Laikipia.
Earlier protests on June 1 saw two people killed, a rights group said, though the circumstances of the deaths remain unclear.
President William Ruto’s government has vowed to press ahead with the facility, saying it owes Washington for years of aid support.
The United States has also pledged $13.5 million to Kenya’s Ebola preparedness efforts.
Kenya’s health minister has claimed the facility will be for Kenyans as well as Americans, though that has not been the message from Washington but protesters insist it must deal with problems on their own soil.